Assumptions
by Bunny on the Moon
Summary: ONE-SHOT, Darkrai x Cresselia, slight movie 10 spoilers. He didn't know what kind of pain it was, but he wanted it to go away. She could heal it, but only if he let her.


"Well, I can definitely tell you that it's not a physical ailment," she told him, "otherwise I'd actually be able to heal it."

The frown was evident in Darkrai's eyes as he gazed over at Cresselia skeptically. What did she mean, she couldn't heal it? She had the strongest healing powers of all of the deities, so if _she_ couldn't heal him, then what would he do?

"But then, it might help if you actually told me what was wrong," the Lunar Pokémon continued. "Just saying 'there's a pain in my chest' doesn't help me very much, I'm afraid." She hovered there in front of him, regarding him with an unamused expression; if her arms were longer, they would definitely be crossed.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Darkrai heaved a frustrated sigh. He'd come to seek healing from Cresselia due to a sudden pain he felt in his chest. It was like a crushing, gripping pain. Normally, such things wouldn't bother him - and if they did then he wouldn't show it - but this was just too much to ignore. It made him feel... _helpless_, somehow. He'd never been good with any emotions other than anger, so it was hard for him to describe, but he didn't like it one bit.

"It's difficult to explain," he finally murmured, "it's sort of an... empty pain. If that makes sense."

Cresselia tilted her head at him, looking extremely puzzled. "An 'empty' pain? ... No, that really doesn't make sense. If there's any way you can elaborate on that, I may be able to help you." When he shot a glare at her, she cringed a bit and added, "perhaps start with _when_ you started feeling this way?"

... Huh. Well, _that_ he could do, he supposed. "Yesterday. I was in Alamos." Occasionally, he liked to return to the town that he'd fought to save so long ago, just to see how things were. And because he'd said he would. He had to protect the city, protect the garden, protect _her_. But for some reason, he felt an odd kind of sickness when he thought of that girl now; it made the pain in his chest grow even more.

"Hm..." Cresselia hovered around a bit, in sort of a pacing motion. "It's kind of strange for you to develop that kind of pain so suddenly. Maybe there was something that actually triggered it..." She gave her counterpart a look of inquiry. "Can you remember what was happening around you when you started feeling it?"

Darkrai glanced up at the sky, focusing on the blue clarity above him as he recalled the events of the day before. Yeah, he could definitely remember...

He'd been floating through the garden, the most peaceful place he knew of. It had always been able to calm his nerves, and yesterday he'd really needed it - Dialga and Palkia's taunting had nearly pushed him over the edge (really, _when_ were they going to stop laughing at him for nearly dying?), and he'd had to get out of the Hall of Origin as fast as he could before he blew up the entire place. So naturally, he went to the garden. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he'd even catch a glimpse of Alice.

And catch a glimpse of her he did; while he'd hid himself among the shadows, she'd walked through the garden alongside that boy with the glasses who had always accompanied her. He'd been rambling on about some things that he'd been researching, and while she hadn't looked like she'd had the slightest idea of what he was talking about, she'd listened intently. This was actually pretty normal for them, but Darkrai had noticed one distinct difference about their conversation this time: their hands had been locked together the entire time.

That was when the pain had started, but it hadn't grown to its current level until he'd seen them embrace each other.

Darkrai tried to explain this to Cresselia the best that he could - in a vague manner, of course, as he wasn't sure _what_ exactly was going on. "And even now as I remember it, the pain continues to intensify. I don't want to feel this way anymore, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to block it out."

And as she learned of what exactly made him start feeling like this, realization dawned on her. "...I think I know what the problem is," she said quietly, an indeterminable emotion in her eyes.

He said nothing; he only nodded at her, encouraging her to go on.

"Sometimes, when people lose something important to them, they feel empty inside - you said that you're feeling an empty sort of pain. It feels like... someone's reached in and gripped you by the heart, and they just squeeze," Cresselia said. "They squeeze so hard that it feels like everything just sort of crumbles, and the fragments dissolve until there's nothing left..."

Darkrai watched her intently as she spoke. That was actually a surprisingly accurate description of what he was feeling. "... Yes, that's what it feels like. But what is it?"

She smiled at him, but there was something a little off about it: the look in her eyes was not a happy one. "It's heartache."

To say he was completely _floored_ by this conclusion would've been an understatement. "Heartache...?"

"You're in love with her, aren't you? That girl in the town..."

Darkrai was suddenly glad that he only had legs when he wanted to, because if he'd been standing on them at the moment, he would've fallen right over. Even so, his hover seemed to falter a bit. "Me? In _love_ with... Alice?" It was a hard concept to wrap his mind around.

Cresselia chuckled a little at his confusion, but again, there was little humor in her voice. "It's the only thing I can think of, Darkrai. You're jealous of that boy she was with. You wish it were _you_ walking through the garden with her, and _you_ embracing her. It's... not an uncommon feeling, but I have to admit, I'm a little surprised that it's coming from you, of all people..."

His face felt very warm all of a sudden. And while he was still incredibly perplexed, he tried to regain his composure the best he could and glanced away from Cresselia. "Er... well..."

"You're blushing, Darkrai. That's telling me that everything I just said is true."

And again, he nearly fell out of the air. He could feel anger flaring up with in him; she had to be _joking_ with him! He was the God of Nightmares and Darkness, and it wasn't in his nature to fall in love with _anyone_, much less a human. And even if he did, those feelings _definitely_ wouldn't be returned. How could anyone love somebody whose purpose was to inflict nightmares on everyone?

But even then, he couldn't exactly disagree with her words, and that just angered him even more. "H-How would _you_ know about that?" he asked, a bit more brash than he was intending.

Cresselia smiled again, but the look in her eyes was very clear to him now - it was _sadness_. "...because I feel the same way when I think about you," she said quietly.

Darkrai blinked at her, watching her turn around and begin to retreat into the depths of her island. It took him a moment to realize the implications of her answer, and when he did, he was totally disarmed.

But before he could say anything, she turned to look at him again. "In theory, I actually _could_ heal that pain of yours, if you'd let me," she muttered, still with that sad smile on her face, "but I have a feeling you'd rather let _her_ do that." And then she continued toward the heart of the island.

He was stunned as more and more of the pieces fell into place, like a mental puzzle. Cresselia had said that the pain he felt was heartache, and he was feeling that because he was jealous of Alice's relationship with that boy. And somewhere deep down within his heart, he was wishing for the same thing. But when he'd asked how she was so sure of that, she'd replied that she felt it whenever she though of _him_... did that mean that _Cresselia_ was in love with _him_, and was jealous because she thought he had feelings for Alice?

It was an even more difficult concept to comprehend. After all, they were as different as night and day - she was the Full Moon, and he was the New Moon. She was the Dream, and he was the Nightmare. And yet, if he'd come to the right conclusion and she really _did_ harbor those kinds of feelings for him... it made the emptiness he felt dry up a little.

Before he could stop himself, Darkrai bolted after her, grabbing onto one of her wings. She turned to look at him again, and something about the look on her face resonated deeply within him; was that a tear in her eye? "What... are you saying, Cresselia...?"

For a moment, she looked like she wanted to say something. But instead, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's nothing... I'd just _like_ to heal you, but I... I don't think I _can_..."

If he had a visible mouth, it would be frowning. He didn't want her to feel the kind of pain he'd felt; he wouldn't wish it upon _anyone_, but especially not Cresselia. And if she could heal his pain like she claimed she could, then... maybe he could heal hers as well.

He said nothing in response. He simply hovered closer to her and wrapped his arms around her slender neck, just like he'd seen Alice do. "You can."

Cresselia tensed up within his grasp. This was as much of a shock to her as it was when she'd told him about what was ailing him. "But... I thought that--"

"I never said that I was jealous of Tonio," he said softly, indirectly admitting that she was correct in her hunch. "I realize that being with him makes Alice happy. But I never said that it was _her_ that I wanted, either. I..." Darkrai trailed off. How to word this...? "To say that... I want what she _has_... would be a more accurate conclusion."

The Lunar Pokémon's shock faded a bit at this revelation. It was true; Darkrai had been rather vague when he was explaining the situation to her, and he never did say that it was Alice's actions toward Tonio that had made him feel the way he did. It was never good to make assumptions. But in spite of her sudden nervousness, she reached up to place her small paws on either side of his waist, returning his embrace. "You want... somebody who will fill that emptiness inside of you? That... doesn't necessarily have to be her?"

He nodded, tightening his grasp around her. "Yes. But I don't exactly have the most pleasant of jobs, according to the general public. I can understand if nobody could find it within them to... _love_ someone like me."

Cresselia's head fell to rest upon his shoulder. "It's not as hard as you think."


End file.
